Bottom quick-opening door for coking tower or chamber



April 23, 1968 J. M. FORSYTH 9 5 BOTTOM QUICK-OPENING DOOR FUR COKINGTOWER OR CHAMBER Filed April 16, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR 121/2155/iZ Fawn 2w ATTORNE s April 23, 1968 J. M. FORSYTH 3,379,623

BOTTOM QUICK-OPENING DOOR FOR COKING TOWER OR CHAMBER Filed April 16,1964 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I NVE NTOR. Jrma' M fip rrq WJMQM ATTOR NE Y3United States Patent 3,379,623 BOTTOM QUICK-OPENING DOOR FOR COKINGTOWER OR CHAMBER James M. Forsyth, P.O. Box 18602, Houston, Tex. 77023Filed Apr. 16, 1964, Ser. No. 360,207 13 Claims. (Cl. 202252) ABSTRACTOF THE DISCLOSURE The invention contemplates closure of the bottomopening in a coke-forming reactor tower by employment of a dishedcircular door presenting a domed or generally conical convex surfaceprojecting into the inner volume of the reactor. The interfit of thisdoor to the body of the reactor is such as to present only downwardlysloping smooth surfaces to the accumulating solid matter and to thesolid matter being removed. The configuration is such as to mold theaccumulated solid mass with a concave conical shape, centered on thereactor axis and uniquely adapted to align a de-coking or the likeboring or drill bit for accurate self-centered boring into the solidmass.

My invention relates to large reaction vessels such as vertical chambersor towers employed in industrial processing, as for example cokingtowers for accumulation of coke products of petroleum refining,sponge-iron reactors, and the like.

Reactors of the character indicated may be in the order of 20 to 30 feetin diameter and extend on a vertical axis fifty, eighty or one hundredfeet high. From time to time they must be cleaned of the accumulatedsolid matter (e.g., a de-coking operation, in the case of a cokingtower), and this operation is performed 'by first removing a bottom doorto expose a central opening in the tower, and by then boring out thesolid matter, using a large rotating drill rig having an elongated stemor Kelly shaft sunk and journalled below grade level.

In the past, the closure door for such reactors or towers has beengenerally flat, and there have been numerous flat surfaces presented notonly to the accumulating solid matter but also to the solid matter beingremoved. Furthermore, the means for securing the door have been subjectto numerous inconveniences, so that not only is excessive time wasted inopening the door, but parts are damaged and must be replaced before thereactor can be returned to service.

It is, accordingly, an object of the invention to provide an improveddoor construction for a reaction chamber or tower of the characterindicated.

Another object is to meet the above object with a structure in which nohorizontal surfaces are presented either to the accumulating solidmatter or to solid matter being removed.

A further object is to provide a door construction which can bemanipulated with relative ease, and without fouling other parts.

It is also an object to provide an improved door construction which willinherently aid in centering the boring tool used to clean out theaccumulated solid matter.

It is a general object to meet the above objects with a structure ofrelative simplicity, and yet rugged, sealed and insulated in such manneras to assure increased life and utility as compared with priorconstructions.

Other objects and various further features of novelty and invention willbe pointed out or Will occur to those skilled in the art from a readingof the following specification in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings. In said drawings, which show, for illustrative purposes only,a preferred form of the invention:

3,379,623 Patented Apr. 23, 1968 "ice FIG. 1 is a fragmentary simplifiedview in elevation of a reactor vessel, coking tower or the likeembodying a bottom-closure means of my invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view taken in the plane 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a still further enlarged, fragmentary sectional view ofclamping means and of the fit of the bottomclosure means of FIG. 1,taken in the plane 33 of FIG. 5;

FIG. 4 is a side view in partial section of the clamping means of FIG.3, taken along the line 44 of FIG. 3 but on a scale reduced from that ofFIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary view, from beneath the closed vessel of FIG. 1,and showing features of the closure means, clamping means, and releasemechanism of the invention; and

FIG. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary View of the release mechanism of FIG.5, parts being sectioned in the plane 6-6 of FIG. 5.

Briefly, the invention contemplates closure of the bottom opening in areactor of the character indicated by employment of a dished circulardoor presenting a domed or generally conical convex surface projectinginto the inner volume of the reactor. The interfit of this door to thebody of the reactor is such as to present only downwardly sloping smoothsurfaces to the accumulating solid matter and to the solid matter beingremoved. The configuration is such as to have molded the accumulatedsolid mass with a concave conical shape, centered on the reactor axisand uniquely adapted to align a de-coking or the like boring or drillbit for accurate self-centered boring into the solid mass. Otherfeatures, including those relating to handling ease, clamping, sealing,and releasing will be described in detail.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2 of the drawings, the invention is shown inapplication to a cylindrical vessel, reactor or tower having a body 10extending on an upward or vertical axis and provided with a centralcircular opening at the lower end. Generally, the bottom end is offunnel shape, as defined by converging walls of a conical portion 11,and the diameter of the opening is essentially one-half the borediameter of the main body 10 of the chamber. The chamber itself rests onlegs 12 supporting the entire structure above grade level, so that todislodge accumulated solid matter access may be had through a removableclosure or door 13 sealing off the bottom opening of the vessel.Conventional means, such as a Kelly shaft (not shown), is employed forboring out the accumulated solid matter so that it may be dislodgedmerely by dropping onto a suitable conveyor belt for remotetransportation. In my copending patent application Ser. No. 361,122,filed Apr. 20, 1964, now Patent No. 3,280,416, I describe an improveddrilling mechanism of the general character to which I allude, andtherefore reference may be had to such description and disclosure for abetter understanding of the reference to a Kelly shaft.

As will be seen in FIG. 2, the shape of the closure or door 13 iscircular and dished upwardly, thus presenting a convex surface ofgenerally conical or dome shape projecting up into the volume of thechamber 10. Preferably, the flare or downward slope of the conicalsurface of the door 13 conforms with the shape of the drill used to boreout the accumulated solid matter. Also preferably, the central or noseend of the door 13 is rounded and tangentially merged to the overallgenerally conical configuration of the door surface.

As a practical matter, in fabricating a door such as that of FIG. 2,several separate pieces may be involved; these are shown welded to eachother. Thus, the rounded nose piece 14 may be a separate steel casting,that is, separate and apart from the generally conical main body 15 towhich it fits and to which it may be secured by welding, as indicated atGreater strength and crosssection are desired in the outer part of thedoor 13, namely, the skirt part 16, which may be another steel casting,secured by welds 17 to the main body 15. In spite of the number of partsmaking up the door 13, it will be appreciated that the overall convexsurface thereof presents nothing but smoothly and continuously relateddownward slopes, and that these slopes extend into substantial overlapwith the adjacent edge of the reactor, at the bottom opening thereof.

To complete the description of the door 13, the outer edge of skirt 16is provided with notches or radial slots 18 at angularly spacedlocations, for securing purposes, as will later be clear. Also, formanipulative purposes, a fiat circular plate or platform 19 bridges andreinforces the nose 14, being welded in place, as shown. A central hole20 in plate 19 serves to locate the upwardly project ing tip end of theKelly shaft 21 (or of a suitably shouldered fitting carried thereby), sothat when released from the tower opening, door 13 may be lowered,removed, and replaced, using the elevating mechanism (not shown) of theKelly-shaft assembly. Radial struts 23 and arcuate segments 22 betweenplate 19 and nose 14 are welded in place and serve to distribute theweight of door 13 at its connection to plate 19.

In reaction chambers involving materials corrosive to the describedparts, it is desirable to provide stainlesssteel cladding on allinterior surfaces. For door 13 (FIG. 3), such cladding is indicated at24 and at 24' for the skirt and body parts 16-15, respectively.

Basic construction of the reactor funnel 11 may be as described for door13. Thus, a steel casting 11 is shown welded to the funnel body 11, andthe interior surfaces of both parts are lined with stainless-steelcladding. Also, another steel casting 25 is welded at 26-26 to themember 11' to define the lip or edge of the reactor opening, presentinga generally concave conical surface for overlap and sealing engagementwith the skirt 16 of door 13. To promote the seal, the lip casting 25 isprovided with a circumferentially continuous groove 28, which, with theportion exposed to the inner volume of the reactor, is shown coated withstainless-steel cladding 27. The seal means carried in groove 28contemplates heat and liquid barriers, provided by separatecircumferentially continuous compressible rings 29-30, fitting the innerand outer corners of groove 28 and projecting downwardly for compressedsealing contact with skirt 16; the heat-barrier ring 29 may be ofprimarily asbestos material, and the liquidbarrier ring 30 may be ofprimarily rubber-like material. A clamp or wedge ring 31 is shownwedging both barrier rings 29-30 in place and is itself removablysecured by plural spaced screws, as at 32.

To removably retain door 13 in place, the invention provides pluralswing bolts 35, mounted on the reactor at such locations outside theouter radial limits of door 13 that, when released and allowed to hangvertically (phan tom outline in FIG. 3), the bolts 35 and the washersand nuts 36-37 carried thereby will be clear of door 13 as it ismanipulated out of and back into closed position. Thus, the ring casting11 forming part of the funnel structure is provided with slottedopenings 18' corresponding with the openings 18 in door 13, to receivethe shank of each bolt 35; and the pivot pin 34 for each bolt 35 iscarried by two spaced upstanding walls or arms 33 welded to casting 11'at the side walls of each slot 18'. The door 13 is set in place when allnuts 37 have been secured, to uniformly compress seals 29-30 about thecircumferential extent of skirt 16.

In order to remove door 13, the Kelly fitting 21 is positioned insupporting relation with plate 19, and door 13 is unfastened byloosening all nuts 37, allowing all bolts 35 to hang free. If a loweringof the Kelly shaft does not also lower the door 13, then the door isstuck, and resort may be had to prying techniques to dislodge it. In theform shown, this is accomplished by imparting incremental rotation todoor 13 about its axis, and one or more rotary jacks of the type shownin FIGS. 5 and 6 may be employed. Each such jack involves a shortarcuate rack segment 40 carried by the outer limit of door 13, andpinion means 4-1 meshes with rack 40. Pinion 41 is carried at one end ofa pivot shaft 42, journalled in a suitable bracket or fitting welded at45-46 to the funnel casting 11. A crank 43 is removably or permanentlyfastened (as desired) to a boss or head 47 secured to the other end ofshaft 42, thus vertically locating pinion 41. It will be understood thatwith suitable extensions, crank 43 may be of such length as to providesufficient mechanical advantage (amplified if desired by further rotaryjacks 40-41 at locations angularly spaced from that shown in FIGS. 5 and6) to incrementally rotate door 13 and thus crack the bond by which itis stuck in closed position. Door 13 is then free to be lowered by theKelly fitting 21, and the desired contour of accumulated solid matter ispresented at the bottom opening to provide optimum conditions for boringwith a Kelly drill.

It will be appreciated that I have disclosed an improved reactor-vesselconstruction of the character indicated, offering important advancesover the fiat doors of previous constructions. With my arrangement,manipulation is facilitated by having all securing bolts 35 swing clear,in non-fouling relation with a lowering door 13. Both the securing means35-37 and the rotary-jack means 43-41 are to the greatest extentpossible retained by the reactor vessel, clear of the door 13 and freefrom fouling by clinkers or other solid matter dislodged during thecleanout operation. The same can also be said of the seal means 29-30,which therefore lend themselves to extended life. No flat horizontalsurfaces are anywhere presented for accumulation of solid matter.

While the invention has been described in detail for the preferred formshown, it will be understood that modifications may be made Within thescope of the invention as defined in the claims which follow.

I claim:

1. In a reaction vessel of the character indicated, a cylindrical bodyon an upstanding elongated axis and having on said axis a circularopening at the bottom end, a door for removably closing said opening andcomprising a convex circular dish of larger diameter than said openingand adapted to close the opening when the convex portion faces upwardlyand projects into the inner volume of said vessel, the convex surface ofsaid door extending continuously to the peripheral limits thereof, andreleasable clamp means including parts carried by said body and by saiddoor for removably securing said door in closed position.

'2. In a reaction vessel of the character indicated, a cylindrical bodyon an upstanding elongated axis and having on said axis a circularopening at the bottom end, a door for removably closing said opening andcomprising a generally conical disc of larger diameter than said openingand adapted to close the opening when the convex side thereof facesupwardly and projects into the inher volume of said vessel, the bottomedge of said circnlar opening being generally conical and conformingwith the local slope of the convex disc when said door is closed, andreleasable clamp means including parts carried by said body and by saiddoor for removably securing said door in closed position.

3. A vessel according to claim 2 in which the convex side of said doorhas a slope down from the horizontal in the range of 20 to 45.

1. A vessel according to claim 2, in which the convex side of said doorhas a slope down from the horizontal in the amount of substantially 30.

5. A vessel according to claim 2, in which the projecting tip of theconvex side is rounded and is essentially tangentially formed with thegenerally conical remainder of the convex side.

6. A vessel according to claim 2, in which the other side of said doorincludes flat support means with a central opening on the door axis,whereby an upwardly proected lifting tool or jack may be centrallylocated for balanced handling of the door when said clamp means isreleased.

7. In a reaction vessel of the character indicated, a cylindrical bodyon an upstanding elongated axis and having on said axis a circularopening at the bottom end, a door for removably closing said opening andcomprising a generally conical disc of larger diameter than said openingand adapted to close the opening when the convex side thereof facesupwardly and projects into the inner volume of said vessel, the rim ofthe opening of said vessel being formed with a truncated generallyconical concave surface of slope matching that of the convex side ofsaid door, whereby the closure effected by said door, is characterizedby relatively wide circumferentially extending overlap of said concavesurface with the convex side of said door, and releasable clamp meansincluding parts carried by said body and by said door for removablysecuring said door in closed position.

8. A vessel according to claim 7, in which the fit of said door to saidvessel includes a circumferentially extending yieldable seal meanscarried by and projecting downwardly from said concave surface andcompressed into sealing relation with said convex surface upon settingsaid clamp means.

9. A vessel according to claim 8, in which said seal means comprisesspaced inner and outer rings of different seal materials, the inner ringbeing of insulating material to constitute a heat-barrier seal, and theouter ring being of rubber-like material to constitute a pressure sealagainst liquid egress.

10. In a reaction vessel of the character indicated, a cylindrical bodyon an upstanding elongated axis and having on said axis acircularopening at the bottom end, a door for removably closing said opening andcomprising a generally conical disc of larger diameter than said openingand adapted to close the opening when the convex side thereof facesupwardly and projects into the inner volume of said vessel, the rim ofthe opening of said vessel being formed with a truncated generallyconical concave surface of slope matching that of the convex side ofsaid door, whereby the closure effected by said door is characterized byrelatively wide circumferentially extending overlap of said concavesurface with the convex side of said door, and releasable clamp meansincluding parts carried by said body and by said door for removablysecuring said door in closed position, and release mechanism fordislodging said door from a stuck closed position, said mechanismcomprising release parts carried by both said door and said body, andactuating means reacting between said release parts for applying aunidirectional torque to said door about the door axis.

11. In a reaction vessel of the character indicated, a

cylindrical body on an upstanding elongated axis and having on said axisa circular opening at the bottom end, a door for removably closing saidopening and comprising a convex circular dish of larger diameter thansaid opening and adapted to close the opening when the convex portionfaces upwardly and projects into the inner volume of said vessel, theconvex surface of said door extending continuously to the peripherallimits of the reaction-vessel opening, said door being fully removablefrom said opening, and releasable clamp means consisting of partscarried by said body and by said door for removably securing said doorin closed position, said parts carried by said body comprising pluralbolts spaced about the periphery of said opening, each said bolt beingpivotally suspended from a point outside of but adjacent the radiallyouter limit of said door, whereby when released said bolts may hangclear of said door to permit non-fouling handling of said door, eachbolt being swingable radially inwardly into clamping engagement with theadjacent clamp part carried by said door.

12. The vessel according to claim 11, in which the clamp parts carriedby the door project radially outside the limit of said opening anddefine a radial slot for reception of each swung bolt, and a nut carriedby each bolt for securing the door at the margins of each slot.

13. In a reaction vessel of the character indicated, a cylindrical bodyon an upstanding elongated axis and having on said axis a circularopening at the bottom end, a door for removably closing said opening andcomprising a generally conical disc of larger diameter than said openingand adapted to close the opening when the convex side thereof facesupwardly and projects into the inner volume of said vessel, saidgenerally conical disc having a substantial central body portion ofrelatively thin metal and a peripherally continuous circumferentialintegral rim of relatively thick metal, the rim of the opening of saidvessel being formed with a truncated generally conical concave surfaceof slope matching that of the convex side of said door, whereby theclosure effected by said door is characterized by relatively widecircumferentially extending overlap of said concave surface with theconvex side of said door, and releasable clamp means including partscarried by said body and by the relatively thick part of said door forremovably securing said door in closed position.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,469,070 9/1923 Jacobs 23290 XFOREIGN PATENTS 24,624 7/ 1931 Netherlands.

MORRIS O. WOLK, Primary Examiner.

JOSEPH SCOVRONEK, Examiner.

R, SERWIN, Assistant Examiner,

